BRADY APPLAUDS PRESIDENT BIDEN’S HISTORIC VIOLENCE PREVENTION PLAN TAKING A SUPPLY SIDE APPROACH TO CURB GUN TRAFFICKING AND VIOLENCE

 

President Biden’s Comprehensive Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gun Crime Includes Numerous Policies that Brady Has Advocated for Over Many Years

 https://www.bradyunited.org/press-releases/president-bidens-historic-violence-prevention-plan-leadership-supply-side

 

Washington, D.C., June 23, 2021 - Today, Brady applauds the Biden Administration for adopting or proposing multiple policies that address gun trafficking by correctly enforcing existing gun laws and holding irresponsible dealers to account. These actions, which are among Brady’s recommendations for the Biden Administration, come just weeks after a marquee investigation by USA Today and The Trace into how the ATF’s inspection program fails to adequately address federal firearms licensees (FFLs) that violate the law and that used thousands of pages of documents obtained by Brady through litigation and the Freedom of Information Act.

President Biden’s proposals will also significantly aid local law enforcement in stopping the flow of crime guns into communities across the country, taking a supply side approach to stopping gun violence that addresses the source of trafficked firearms rather than over-policing the communities most affected by this epidemic. President Biden’s plan will help to stem the surge in violence that we have seen in multiple communities across the country that began last year under former President Trump.

Brady President Kris Brown shared:

“The Administration is right to swiftly address the concerning increase in gun violence and violence with a whole-of-government approach. Under the Trump Administration, we saw surging violence as well as surging gun sales. In 2020, Brady estimates that gun sales increased nearly 64 percent over 2019 rates, while numerous cities have reported increases in homicides, including gun homicides, and shootings. The American people want solutions and President Biden is delivering them in a manner that gets to the roots of this issue without harming the communities already bearing the brunt of this violence.

Today’s announcement shows that President Biden understands that effectively addressing gun violence requires a comprehensive approach that includes both demand and supply side strategies. By focusing on enforcing the laws already in place, President Biden can stem the flow of those weapons to the illegal market and into communities most impacted, without repeating the harmful policing policies of the past that can exacerbate these cycles of violence. The supply side approaches in today’s actions will hold irresponsible gun dealers accountable for profiting off of violence taking place in communities they do not live in, while President Biden’s previous demand side policies, such as the call for a historic $5 billion for community violence prevention, break cycles of gun violence by investing in and strengthening communities to address the root causes of violence and conflict. These actions will have a direct and lasting impact in communities that are being torn apart by daily gun violence. Thank you to President Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland for this focus and plan.”

Brady Legal Counsel and Combating Crime Guns Program Director Josh Scharff shared:

“As reporting last month by USA Today and The Trace using Brady-supplied materials showed, the ATF has for too long failed to adequately enforce existing laws governing the safe sale and transfer of firearms. President Biden’s announcement today shows that those days are over. We know that this will immediately and tangibly help to reduce gun violence by stopping the trafficking of firearms throughout our country. We know that most firearms used in crimes, called crime guns, begin in the legal marketplace at a licensed dealer. Incredibly only 5 percent of gun dealers are responsible for 90 percent of crime guns that are recovered and traced by law enforcement. By addressing the reality that a small number of irresponsible dealers are responsible for the majority of crime guns, the Biden Administration can help prevent those crimes and save lives. Importantly, included among these policies is a formalization of data-driven prioritization of inspection resources, a policy that Brady has called for and championed with our enhanced inspections initiative for years. Today is a historic day in the effort to enforce our nation’s gun laws and properly inspect the gun industry.”

Brady Senior Counsel and Director of Racial Justice Kelly Sampson shared:

“This announcement is a watershed moment in the gun violence prevention movement; the President of the United States has listened to communities and crafted solutions that will effectively reduce the flow of dangerous arms onto our streets without relying on brute force. This announcement addresses the reality of gun violence in America, where nearly half of all homicides occur in just 127 cities and towns that contain only a quarter of the population and where Black men and boys from 15 to 34 comprised 37 percent of gun homicides, despite being less than 2 percent of the population. These statistics do not reflect a “culture of violence” requiring ever more militant policing, as some suggest, but they instead reflect decades of racist policies, oppression, and indifference. The reality is that gun homicide disproportionately affects Black and Brown Americans, even though the firearms used in those crimes are often negligently or recklessly sold outside of our communities. Brady is proud and pleased to see the Biden Administration tackle both ends of that equation, first in calling for historic funding for violence prevention programs to help heal our communities and now in addressing the source of these dangerous weapons. President Biden and his administration are truly taking comprehensive action to address violence in our country.”

About Brady’s Supply Side Approach:

Read Brady’s full Combating Crime Guns report here.

Most efforts to prevent gun violence focus on the perpetrators of violence with guns. These demand-side efforts, whether public policy, criminal justice reform, or social service programs, are necessary to save lives. But, alone, they are not sufficient to end America’s epidemic of gun violence, and the burden of ending gun violence should not rest solely on the communities most impacted.

A supply-side approach is focused on the supply of crime guns and encourages elected officials, community members, and law enforcement to address not just the shooter, but also the source or supplier of the gun.

By using a behavior change approach that holds gun dealers accountable, in addition to existing intervention and prevention efforts, local communities could experience a reduction in homicide and shooting rates in even the most impacted neighborhoods. In other words, a supply-side strategy is a critical aspect of a comprehensive public health approach to reducing gun violence.

About Brady’s Enhanced Inspection Initiative:

Brady’s Enhanced Inspections Initiative focuses on identifying and reforming problematic gun dealers by providing state and local authorities with the tools necessary to optimize their gun dealer inspection processes. State and local gun industry oversight is critically necessary, as the ATF inspects only about 7 percent of federal firearms licensees each year, including only 12-13 percent of all dealers, pawnshops, and manufacturers. Even when the ATF does inspect a federal firearms licensee (FFL), as this investigation shows, it often fails to adequately enforce the law.

Through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and litigation, Brady has obtained and analyzed over 50,000 pages of ATF inspection data. Using this and other data, Brady has created a method for identifying key characteristics of dealers more likely to violate the law. Our method is 4.5 times more likely to identify a problem dealer than random selection. We expect its accuracy to increase as we gain access to more data.

Brady is working to integrate its proprietary data-analytics tool into state and local inspection processes. This tool allows state and local authorities to focus their limited resources on dealers who are likely to be violating the law. In doing so, states and localities will be able to fill the oversight void that currently exists due to ATF constraints, and conduct their own, more efficient oversight of dealers.

Together with our partners, the Enhanced Inspections Initiative combines analytics with Brady’s expertise and national resources to better understand urban firearm gun homicide and violence, identify problem dealers, and stem the flow of guns into impacted communities.

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 FRED GUTTENBERG, BRADY SHARE OPEN LETTER FROM AMERICA’S FATHERS CALLING FOR ACTION TO PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE

 

Over 120 Fathers Join Guttenberg and #DadsForGunSafety to Demand Action Ahead of Father’s Day Weekend

 

https://www.bradyunited.org/press-releases/fred-guttenberg-open-letter-fathers-day

 

Washington, D.C., June 18, 2021 - Ahead of Father’s Day, Fred Guttenberg, activist and father of Jaime Guttenberg who was killed in the 2018 Parkland shooting, and Brady have published an open letter from more than 120 fathers across the country calling on American leadership to take action to prevent gun violence. The letter builds upon Guttenberg’s #DadsForGunSafety movement, adding urgency to the calls from fathers nationwide who have lost or are concerned for their children due to gun violence. According to one study, a child or teen is killed by gun violence in America every 2 hours and 34 minutes. This movement requires all fathers, including and especially gun owners who understand the need for gun safety and common-sense gun violence prevention. Read Fred’s open letter here, while any dad nationwide can join Fred in calling for change.

Fred Guttenberg explained:

“This Father’s Day, I, like thousands of other fathers across the country, will be forced to confront a day in which one of our children is not with us because of gun violence. My daughter Jaime should be with me this weekend. I should have watched her walk across the stage at her graduation this month, instead I attended the graduation ceremony to receive a commemorative shadow box in honor of her memory.

It doesn’t have to be this way and dads like myself have a vital role to play in ensuring that no future parents, no future fathers, have to lose a child to gun violence. While dads have in many ways been overlooked in the narrative of the gun violence prevention movement, we have been on the front lines of the fight to end this epidemic. This includes fathers who own firearms - you can be a gun owner and for gun safety. We want to protect our families and our communities. This effort gives us a new mantle and call.

We must protect our kids, but to do so, Congress needs to do its job. Our letter, signed by Governors, Attorneys General, state and federal representatives, actors, artists, and survivors, calls on the federal government to pass life saving legislation without delay. I’m grateful to leaders such as President Biden, Speaker Pelosi, and Majority Leader Schumer, for the work they have already done, but I am ready to help them and anyone else who will work in good faith to do more.

We can create a safer country for our kids. This Father’s Day, I’m asking every dad to join us.”

Brady President Kris Brown added:

“Fred’s moral clarity on this issue is informed by a loss that no parent and no father should have to endure. We are grateful for his voice and his tireless effort to end gun violence in our country so that no other dad has to lose a child to this preventable epidemic. #DadsForGunSafety is a needed and unifying call to action for the work that fathers all across the country are already doing. It’s time we listened to and recognized dads and the work they are doing to keep their families and communities safe. Brady thanks Fred and all fathers who are on the front lines of this work and pledges to continue to support them and their work. This is about protecting our kids.”

About #DadsForGunSafety’s Open Letter:

Fred’s open letter has been signed by over 120 fathers nationwide, including Governors, Attorneys General, Activists, Actors, Artists, members of the U.S. House of Representatives, State Representatives, and survivors. Each signatory is a father and is clear in calling for change to prevent gun violence in our country. Specific calls in the letter include:

1.    The U.S. Senate must confirm David Chipman, President Biden’s nominee to lead the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

2.    The U.S. Senate must pass the common-sense and bipartisan legislation expanding and strengthening background checks that the U.S. House of Representatives passed in March

3.    Congress must include funding for community violence prevention programs in upcoming budget agreements, including the $5 billion for such programs that President Biden included in his American Jobs Plan

4.    Congress must pass a federal ban on assault-style weapons, such as the one that was used in the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida that killed Jaime Guttenberg and 16 others.

 

This letter remains open for all dads to join and to add their voice to this list of demands. The time is now to end gun violence in our country, and dads play an integral part in that effort.

 

 

BRADY CELEBRATES NEVADA GOV. SISOLAK SIGNING A BAN ON GHOST GUNS INTO LAW

Washington, D.C., June 7, 2021 - Today, Brady celebrates Nevada’s newest law: AB 286, which was signed into law by Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak this afternoon after passing both chambers of the Nevada Legislature. This law will ban and prevent the further proliferation of ghost guns - firearms constructed from unfinished and unserialized frames and receivers that are often sold in kits that can be assembled into fully functioning firearms. This new law makes Nevada one of only several states with such bans, helping to stop this existential threat to public safety and keep all Nevadans safe.

Brady President Kris Brown shared:

“This is a historic day for Nevada; the state legislature and Gov. Sisolak have acted swiftly and in the best interest of all Nevadans to ban untraceable ghost guns across the state. With this law, Nevada joins other states and localities like the District of Columbia, Hawaii and New Jersey in banning the parts and kits used to assemble these untraceable weapons. Nevada’s ban will be one of the strongest ghost gun bans in the country and will regulate these weapons for what they actually are: firearms. These weapons threaten public safety and law enforcement, undermining nearly all existing gun violence prevention laws. They are an existential threat to communities across the country. Brady thanks Nevada’s legislature and Gov. Sisolak for clearly identifying that fact and acting to address it.

This new law is thanks to the sustained efforts and advocacy of activists across Nevada, including and especially Battle Born Progress. We are grateful for their leadership and to Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui, herself a survivor of the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Music festival in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017, for introducing and stewarding this legislation.”

About AB 286:

AB 286 would prohibit an individual from possessing, selling, transferring, or purchasing an unfinished frame or receiver, which can be easily assembled into a ghost gun. The bill would likewise ban the possession of existing ghost guns beginning in January 2022. This bill includes common-sense carve outs such as an exception for firearms importers or manufacturers and for certain types of firearms including those rendered permanently inoperable, antiques or collector’s items, such as for hobbyists or collectors.

About Ghost Guns:

Ghost guns are unserialized and untraceable firearms that are often made from "ghost gun kits," that can be bought online, at gun shows or at gun stores and assembled at home. "Ghost gun kits," include all of the parts and often the equipment necessary to build these weapons at home. These kits are widely available and can be purchased by anyone, including prohibited purchasers, domestic abusers, and gun traffickers — without a background check. As these kits and guns are sold at gun shows and online every day throughout the country, they undermine all of the life-saving policies that state legislatures have fought so hard to put in place.

This is a growing concern, as:

• The ATF estimated that in just 2019, over 10,000 ghost guns were recovered by law enforcement.

• The CA Bureau of Firearms seized 512 percent more ghost guns from persons identified through the Armed Prohibited Persons System database in 2019 than in 2018.

• In January 2020, the ATF’s Los Angeles Field Division reported that over 40 percent of its cases involved ghost guns.

• In San Francisco, the number of ghost guns seized by local law enforcement jumped 600 percent between 2017 and 2019

• In Onondaga County, in New York State the number of ghost guns recovered jumped 188 percent between 2018 and 2019 and in 2020, the county was again on track to break their record for recoveries - halfway through the year, more ghost guns had been recovered than in all of 2019.

Two states, Hawaii and New Jersey, and two cities, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., have already instituted bans on ghost guns or parts and kits used to assemble these weapons, and several other states including California, Rhode Island, and Connecticut have also passed laws regulating ghost guns. Both New York state and San Francisco are considering legislation surrounding ghost guns, and the parts and kits used to assemble ghost guns as well bans.

About Brady’s First-of-its-Kind Lawsuit, McFadyen v. Ghost Gunner Inc.:

Represented by Brady and the international law firm Orrick, Herrington, & Sutcliffe the survivors and the families of the people killed in the 2017 mass shooting in Rancho Tehama, California, recently brought forward McFadyen v. GhostGunner Inc., the nation’s first two civil lawsuits by victims of gun violence against the ghost gun industry.

Plaintiffs allege in the complaint that the defendants have chosen to engage in a business that utilizes online loopholes that enable prohibited purchasers to acquire weapons without a Brady Background Check or any interaction with a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL). In doing so, Brady alleges that the defendants have chosen to intentionally undermine federal and state gun laws by designing, marketing, and selling ghost gun kits and firearms parts, which allowed the Rancho Tehama gunman, who was barred from purchasing or possessing a firearm, to obtain two AR-15-style ghost guns. During the gunman’s shooting spree in November 2017, he killed five people and injured 18 others at eight separate crime scenes, including an elementary school.

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Brady has one powerful mission — to unite all Americans against gun violence. We work across Congress, the courts, and our communities with over 90 grassroots chapters, bringing together young and old, red and blue, and every shade of color to find common ground in common sense. In the spirit of our namesakes Jim and Sarah Brady, we have fought for over 45 years to take action, not sides, and we will not stop until this epidemic ends. It’s in our hands.

JUNE IS NATIONAL GUN VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH TO HONOR AND REMEMBER HADIYA AND ALL GUN VIOLENCE VICTIMS

 

                JUNE IS NATIONAL 

GUN VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH

Every day, more than 300 people are directly impacted by gun violence in the United States. Gun Violence Awareness month was created to draw attention to this tragic reality and demand life-saving change. 

We Wear Orange in honor of Hadiya Pendleton and all those impacted by gun violence.

Hadiya Pendleton was 15 years old when she was shot and killed in Chicago in 2013. Just one week earlier, Hadiya had performed with her high school majorette squad at President Obama's second inaugural parade. In response to her death, Hadiya's friends asked others to wear orange to raise awareness about gun violence. 

Gun violence prevention advocates and organizations nationwide have taken up the color orange as the color of gun violence awareness and the first Friday in June is now considered National Gun Violence Awareness Day.